Dzieje urszulanek i ich szkół na Dolnym Śląsku

In the land of Silesia, which after World War II became part of the Polish State, German Ursulines had been operating their apostolic mission for over 330 years. They worked in Wrocław and other foundations established by the Wrocław monastery: Świdnica, Lubomierz and Racibórz. Each of these monasteries also had branch houses. Ursulines were always devoted to the education of girls in schools and board-ing schools. The history of the Ursulines in Wroclaw, both in its initial stage and also in the later years, reflects the complicated fate of Silesia - its frequent and profound political changes. Those changes often put a stop to the possibility of longer periods of social and cultural stabilization, and often threatened even the existence of religious orders and their apostolates. Despite their turbulent history, the Ursuline sisters have continued their mission with generosity and enthusiasm up to the present moment in the capital of Lower Silesia. After World War II, the German Ursulines were forced to leave their flourishing schools. Out of the 11 existing German Ursuline convents in Lower Silesia, only four were assumed into the Polish Province of the Roman Union Ursulines after World War II: Wrocław, Bardo Śląskie, Polanica and, from 1971, also Głuchołazy. Of these four convents, Wrocław was the only one that established a high school for girls which, miraculously, survived the entire period of the Communist regime. Thus, the long tradition of Ursuline schools in Lower Silesia, which began in the 17th century, has been preserved.